After a couple weeks of speculating, it seems Chelsea have secured the services of Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel, who plays for Vitesse, accepting an offer for the player.
According to the Telegraph, Chelsea have made an offer worth €8.5 million for the U-21 player, who is currently with the Dutch team in Israel, participating in the European championship, where he has already notched up two assists and won one man of the match award through the first two games for the side.
Chelsea have been following van Ginkel for a few months now, ever since he made his debut for the national side back in November, before his 20th birthday. He enjoyed a breakout season with Vitesse, scoring 8 league goals and adding 10 assists, his best production so far, and he’s been a starting player for the last three seasons.
While Chelsea have yet to secure their terms with the player, Van Ginkel, when asked about the possibility of joining Chelsea this summer, only said he’s very flattered and it would be a dream to play for such a club. It’s hard to imagine him not agreeing to anything offered before him by the club, although reports in the Netherlands are suggesting that Ajax are trying to make their way towards a deal as well with a last-minute offer, that actually might be coming a little bit too late.
The central midfielder likes to drift a bit wide during matches, but does a very good job at a more defensive role as well, not having a problem holding down the midfield when necessary. He has played 16 times, scoring 3 goals, for the U-21 side, and since making his debut for Vitesse in 2010, he has appeared 109 times for the club, scoring 23 goals and adding 18 assists in all competitions.
Being a relatively expensive signing in Dutch terms (not the least in Chelsea terms) doesn’t make any assurances he’ll play much next season, with the club and Mourinho not usually too gleeful about rewarding young players with opportunities in the starting lineup, unless they cost a lot of money like Oscar and Eden Hazard.